Thanks for the positive and objective feed back chaps.
I have just spotted a Nvidia 7900gs for 165
I have just spotted a Nvidia 7900gs for 165
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DX10 isn't even out yet, and if so, it will only work with Vista.I would get the nvidia geforce 8800 it has direct x 10 so you wont need to upgrade for next gen games.
Firstly, that is not true.ATi doesn't offer midrange cards with passive cooling.
Why? Most mobos nowadays have the primary GFX slot placed a bit more spacy so those cards do not cover any other slots.I despise those double-deckers
Now, that's what online reviews are for, so you can inform yourself about any especially noisy cards.and cards that sound like vacuum cleaners. Since you usually don't get to listen to what a card's cooling fan sounds like until you've bought it, the easiest thing to do is to just get a passively cooled card.
You do not have to install the CCC.Also, the only official way to adjust settings on ATi cards is to use their crappy bloated Catalyst Control Center. Granted, NVidia has also bundled a new, buggy, and slow interface with their new drivers, but you can still choose the old, working, and complete interface if you want to.
I don't find much difference in functionallity, really.ATi seems to be more interested in making their interface more skinnable (why the heck would you want to skin a darn control panel?) than adding functionality. In functionality and customizability NVidia's drivers offer much more. For example, you don't need PowerStrip to add new resolutions.
Firstly, that is not true.
Secondly, ATi, just like nVidia, does not offer any gamer cards themselves.
Only third-party manufacturers offer cards with GPUs from both companies on them.
I see.By that I meant cards with an ATi chip on them, not cards directly manufactured by ATi. I checked the most popular Finnish online store for heatsink-only cards. The only ATI PCI-E cards were below-100€ low-end models. I repeated the search on Newegg. Seven fanless ATi cards above 100$ (to rid the results of the lowest end). All except one are double-deckers. The sole normal-sized card is a Radeon 9250.
Alright.To me a double-decker screams inferior design "We couldn't design as an efficient chip as our competitor so we had to install a huge cooling device".
In which case you will have to make up for it with case fans (see argument above).I guess... but I prefer to stay on the safe side and take a completely silent card (I'm getting allergic to all the whining fan noise).
Agreed.For example 1024x576 interlaced would be great for widescreen standard definition TV. SCART and VGA are electrically compatible. You just need to use compatible timings (which ATI's CCC doesn't allow you to adjust). Or you might need some odd variation of 13??x768 if you have a big LCD television. They're particularly selective about the input resolution if you want a non-scaled pixel-perfect image. I like configurability.
the latest ATI drivers for linux are quite good, better performance than windows , i know of many people who now swear by ATI , i suppose it depends on which gpu your using also tho